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Throughout the year, Otsu's seasonal beauty touches people's hearts with lasting impressions. In spring, the cherry blossoms reach their fullest glory at the historic temples and shrines in the area. The focus shifts in summer to the brightly glittering surface of Lake Biwa, followed by the blazing colors of autumn across the mountains and villages, and refreshed anew in winter with the pure white snows that cover the mountain landscape.
Teigo Iba (1847-1926), the second Director General of the Sumitomo family enterprise, was especially fond of Otsu's scenic beauty. During his years at the helm of the enterprise, Iba proved his ability in shrewdly managing the Besshi Copper Mine, which was the main business of the Sumitomo family. He was not only successful in expanding the business but he was also greatly appreciated for coping with an air pollution problem by relocating the company's smelting operations to an island. Iba's initiatives on environmental problems, such as reforesting the site of a former mine, were ahead of their time.
Iba retired from the business world at the age of 58 and built a house in the town of Seta on top of a hill near the Karahashi Bridge of Seta, one of Japan's three most famous bridges. He passed away there at the age of 80, and his family later donated the house to the Sumitomo Group. The house now serves as a company retreat called Sumitomo Kakkien. Tsutomu Okuda, who manages the facility, says, "The combination of Western and Japanese styling is a valuable example of the fine wood-frame structures built a century ago." The building, which also houses an exhibition room, is located in a beautiful setting among the trees, recalling the spirit of a revered pioneer of the Sumitomo Group. |
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| A building redeveloped along the lakeside of Lake Biwa. The mixture of tradition and innovation is one of this area's biggest attractions. |
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